Tractor trailer motor vehicles known as semi trucks are equipped with headlights, clearance lights, auxiliary engine brake and cruise control systems for controlling the operation and braking of the vehicle and providing light for the operator and other vehicles on the road. The controls for the lights, auxiliary engine brake and cruise control are normally operated electrical switches mounted on the vehicle's dash board adjacent one side of and forwardly of the steering wheel. Over the road, tractor trailer operators use headlights and clearance lights to inform a passing vehicle to proceed to pass and switch road lanes after the pass has been completed. The headlights of the vehicle are turned ON and OFF to signal a safe pass. The clearance lights of the vehicle are turned ON and OFF to signal that the passing vehicle has sufficient clearance to switch road lanes. The operator must use the headlight and clearance light switches located on the dash board to control the headlights and clearance lights. The auxiliary engine brake and cruise control switches are also periodically operated to control the auxiliary engine brake and cruise control systems of the tractor trailer. The auxiliary engine brake, known as a jake brake, and a C brake, is an engine retarder that, when activated, partially closes the engine exhaust valves. This creates a back pressure in each of the cylinders of the engine which slows the engine RPM and ground speed thereby braking the vehicle. The cruise control is disengaged each time the operator uses the clutch or foot brake. The cruise control must be activated by operation of the cruise control switch after each gear change and foot brake operation. The operator must remove one hand from the steering wheel and reach forward to operate these switches. The operator must visually locate the selected switch to be actuated thereby momentarily taking attention and eyes off of the road. This repetitive procedure increases operator stress, fatigue and exhaustion.
Motor vehicle turn signal and stop light switches have been incorporated in the knobs mounted on the outer ends of the gear shift levers. J. Stack in U.S. Pat. No. 1,931,775 discloses a plurality of lights at the front and rear of an automobile with direction indicators designed to be separately illuminated to indicate to pedestrians and motorists the movements forward, right or left, or the intention to stop by the driver of the automobile. The electric switches for controlling the lights are located on the enlarged head mounted on the gear shift lever. G. J. Chicoine in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,883 uses a manually-operated, normally open switch mounted on the gear shift knob of an automobile to activate the rear brake lights during down-shifting to decelerate the automobile. These switch controls do not include the normal light switches of the automobile and are not associated with the automobile's cruise control or a tractor trailer auxiliary engine braking systems.